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I was raised pentecostal here in the south. It was the skirt wearing (for women), no hair cutting, makeup was out of the question...brand of pentecost. I had to listen to grown arse adults cackle like chickens in the name of gawd...run around like psychos while crying or screaming simultaneously...craziness!

I was initiated into the ward at eight years old. Inundated with fear and indoctrinated with myths that nearly drove me over the edge. I did not have to courage to leave until my mid/late twenties. I left just in time...they were literally beginning to make me crazy. I was at the point that I either needed medication or the courage to leave, so I left...because that was cheaper and made more sense. lol

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Former UPC here. My dad converted when I was six and met my stepmother at a neighboring church. She and the church made my life a living hell. My husband was raised in an independent oneness church in New Iberia, LA. We left for good shortly after our first son was born. We couldn't stand the thought of raising him with the fear and self loathing that we grew up with. My dad has pastored three churches in Louisiana. A great deal of my and my husband's families are still in it. We are the only ones who have left. My husband now owns a support forum for former pentecostals.

I see that you are from Louisiana. Did you go to any of the youth camps in Tioga? I went every summer. Chances are, we might know some of the same people.

I had hair down to my knees and didn't pierce my ears for the first time until I was 26 years old. Nowadays, you won't catch me in a skirt. It's jeans only for me.

OK, sorry it has taken me so long to reply. I can get really lazy about this stuff. That is why I haven't posted on the forums for some time. Sooooooo, yes, it is ex-pentecostals. I didn't realize you were the same Sabrina.

Happy 30th to you! You are officially no longer 20 something. I am a little older than you. I will be 32 in October. (dont' tell anyone or I will have to kill you)lol. Since you live in north Louisiana, would you happen to know a Rebekah Morris (Gates)?

Well, if by good you mean you spend years trying to get over this BS then I guess so. I'm an ex Assemblies of God. Not Pentecostal by name, but we always considered ourselves a pentecostal church. We did the speaking in tongues, seizures, running down the backs of church pews, etc. We focused a lot on how God was necessary for a person to be worth anything more than filthy rags. When your a young child and you hear crap like that 3 times a week every week it leaves a few issues.

For me, it resulted in a "violent" break with my religion. I never tried to hurt myself, although it was a long time before i stopped considering myself worthless and worse. What I mean is I went from religious, skipped non-religious, and went straight to anti-religious. I've come to consider it something of a plague. People don't always understand why I am so vehement in my hatred of religions. It's not an argument you're likely to win, so I let it go often as not. Coming from crazy snake handler churches lets you know how religion can really warp and damage a mind.

Still get shivers when I remember Forts Lake Youth Camp. Still grit my teeth when I hear people preaching and praying. Thus ends the crying session, lol.

I was also raised in the Assemblies of God - in the Memphis, TN area (Frayser Assembly of God) and Jacksonville, FL (Evangel Temple Assembly of God). My experience was actually really positive, compared to a lot of the stories I've been reading. I was always a pretty smart kid, and I was never really comfortable with the emotional church stuff (speaking in tongues, etc.) There were a bunch of rules about what I was supposed to not do, and I guess I tried to live by them to some extent, but I never had major problems with guilt, like I've heard some people talk about. If I would have ignored those rules earlier, I would have probably had a more interesting college experience, but I don't think I missed out on a huge amount.

Maybe two years ago - I started listening to podcasts, and found the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe. I'd always been a skeptic, as far as psychics, alternative medicine, etc., were concerned, so that podcast was right down my alley, and they didn't attack religion directly, which made me more comfortable. The cool thing is that, by listening to SGU (and eventually a couple other skeptical podcasts), various beliefs that were actually testable started to fall down before reason. One belief that fell early on was creationism - but there are still brands of Christianity that are totally fine with non-directed evolution, so I reasoned that Christianity could still be true. Piece by piece, though, the dominoes fell - I remember realizing that all the stuff they'd told us in church about people getting demonic messages through ouija boards was crap. Long story short, I abandoned belief in god, and christianity. It took me maybe 6 months to really come out with it, and my wife and I separated (for many reasons, of which our new differences in religion were just a small part), and our divorce just became final last month.

My parents and friends from church have actually been really cool about things, though of course they pray for me - but I grew up in this, so I know where they're coming from.

My step-family has its roots in Azuza street, so you can imagine how hardcore it was. When I "backslid" - or, more accurately, deconverted, we all pretty much gave up on each other. I haven't set eyes on any of them in over five years. My brother, also an apostate, is the only family I still speak with.